Rookie pitcher Hwang Jun-seo of the Korean baseball organization Hanwha Eagles pitched well in the opening game of the Futures League.
Jun-seo Hwang started against SSG Landers in the Futures League on Sunday at Seosan Stadium, allowing one run on three hits, one walk, two home runs and three strikeouts in four innings. He threw 57 pitches, 35 for strikes. Twice, he threw out runners on first base with quick throwing strikes.
In the first inning, he got the top hitter, Park Ji-hwan, to ground out to third base. But he gave up a solo home run to Kim Chan-hyung over the left field wall on a two-pitch, two-strike at-bat. The first run of the game.
After the home run, he gave up a single to Choi Jun-woo to left. He struck out Ryu Hyo-seung at first base, but Park Dae-on grounded out to shortstop to end the inning.
In the top of the second,
Kim Min-sik grounded out to the second baseman for the second out. Kim Chang-pyeong walked on a full count. With one out, Kim got Kim Jung-min to fly out to center field and tagged out Kim Chang-pyeong at second base with a quick throw to first. The throw was timed well before Jung Jun-jae threw a fastball at the plate.
Hanwha put runners on second and third with one out in the bottom of the second when Kim Min-ki singled to left and Lee Min-joon doubled to left. 안전놀이터 추천 Park Sang-un followed with an RBI double to left-center to make it 2-1.
In the third, Jung Min-jae flied out to center field and Park Ji-hwan grounded out to third base for the second out. He walked Kim Chan-hyung, who gave up a home run in the first inning, and struck out Choi Jun-woo to end the inning.
In the fourth inning, Ryu Hyo-seung led off with a single to left. He was replaced by Jung Hyun-seung with a pinch runner at first base. Park Dae-on struck out with the bases loaded. Kim Min-sik popped up to the plate, and Jung Hyeon-seung was thrown out at second base on another grounder.
Hwang Jun-seo pitched the fifth inning with a 2-1 lead after four innings.
He was replaced by Lee Chung-ho.
A graduate of Jangchung High School, Hwang Jun-seo is a left-handed pitcher with a fastball that can reach up to 150 kilometers per hour. He was selected by Hanwha with the first overall pick in the 2024 KBO Rookie Draft.
Hwang competed for the fifth spot in spring training. Ryu Hyun-jin, the “Korean Monster,” returned to Hanwha after a 14-year absence, and Kim Min-woo, who won 14 games in 2021, was selected as the fifth starter after rebounding from a slump in the past two years. Hwang Jun-seo will start the season in the second team.
Coach Choi Won-ho said of Hwang Jun-seo on March 23, “I decided to prepare him for the start in the second team first. If we need a starter, it’s fine for him to come in as a starter, but if we need to reinforce the bullpen, we’ll discuss whether to move him up to the bullpen and use him again when that happens.”